About 140 Ford engineers hope to join the United Auto Workers union because of the automaker’s recent moves to cut benefits for salaried employees, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters.
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They reportedly cited low salaries, expensive medical plans and the elimination of overtime pay for the unionisation drive by engineers at Ford’s vehicle operations centre in Allen Park, Michigan.
“They have taken a lot away from us, both in benefits and pay,” one Ford engineer told Reuters, adding: “They have changed our medical benefits, increased co-pay and deductibles. They have also taken away all overtime pay.”
The news agency noted that, like its cross-town rivals, Ford has cut salaried jobs and benefits in recent years to counter falling market share and profitability – since September 2003, the second-largest US automaker has also eliminated overtime pay for certain salaried workers.
About 650 salaried workers at Ford are currently represented by the UAW, Ford spokeswoman Lydia Cisaruk told Reuters.
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By GlobalDataThe report said the Allen Park engineers have already petitioned the National Labour Relations Board to join the UAW and ballots on the issue are expected to be cast in early September.
Overall, the UAW represents about 100,000 salaried workers at automakers and other companies across the country, Reuters noted, adding that the Detroit-based union, which had 1.5 million members in 1979, had just 624,585 at the end of last year.
